How do I use the wine pairing key?

Our wine pairing key is designed to offer you greater flexibility when pairing your wines with your recipes. The icons make it easy for you to identify which styles of wines to pair with current or future recipes, depending on when you choose to enjoy your bottles.

If you don't get the chance to open a particular bottle right away, you can easily match it with a recipe weeks or months later. You’ll also learn that there's rarely one right wine per pairing, rather there’s a certain group of wines with common flavors, aromas and other characteristics that can all complement a particular meal in their own way.

Our new pairing symbols can be found on the front of your Blue Apron recipe cards and on the back of your Blue Apron Wine tasting cards. Here's a complete look at all the wine-pairing categories:

Intensely flavored, aromatic wines are as delightful to smell as they are to drink. These wines—such as Gewürztraminer, Viognier and some Rieslings—are naturally tasty with countryside dishes from the places in Europe where the grapes grow, but they're a surefire hit with spicy, fragrant dishes like Thai green curry.

Light, fresh whites elevate the flavors of a dish's fresh ingredients and help them shine, almost like a chorus providing the background harmony. That's why these wines—such as Pinot Grigio, Grüner Veltliner and unoaked Chardonnays—are sublime with simple broiled sardines.

More classic pairings: Spring salads | Linguine with clams | Pesto

These vibrant wines often taste like passion fruit or citrus, sometimes accented with an herbaceous note. A fruity-zesty balance, a signature of Sauvignon Blanc, is what makes these wines delicious with goat cheese (a staple pairing of France's Loire Valley). The wine makes the cheese taste creamier.

Instantly mouthwatering wines such as Chablis—as well as Chenin Blanc, Vermentino and some Rieslings—possess a certain je ne sais quoi. They have a stony flavor that we perceive as subtle saltiness, which is why the residents of Brittany's seaside towns slurp these wines enthusiastically with freshly shucked oysters.

More classic pairings: Smoked trout | Niçoise salad | Stinky cheeses

Uncork lush, fruity whites—such as California Chardonnay and white Rhône blends—when you want to pair like with like and revel in the richness. That's why the these opulent, often buttery wines pair so well with lobster—dunked in melted butter, of course.

These wines are like denim: they go with almost everything. Grenache, Gamay, Barbera and lighter-style Pinot Noirs have enough body to stand up to red meat, and since red-berry flavors complement anything cheesy, spicy or both, the wines are ideal with Mexican food.

The calling card of these reds—like Cabernet Franc, Carménère and some Malbecs—is the herbal, smoky or even meaty flavors standing out from the fruitiness. The savory element makes these wines match especially well with roasted vegetables—the more fresh herbs in the recipe, the closer the harmony between each bite and sip.

Classic in style, these reds have equal parts power and finesse. Richer Pinots and Merlot-based Bordeaux reds, with their mix of red- and black-fruit flavors, can hold their own with just about any meat. The most delightful pairing to remember: Pork always loves this kind of Pinot Noir.

More classic pairings: Beef Bourguignon | Salmon | Mushroom risotto

These wines are about balancing concentration and complexity. Rhône red blends, Syrah/Shiraz and Zweigelt all have intense flavors of dark fruit accented with spice notes—black pepper, clove and cinnamon, to name a few. That peppery-fruity symmetry is simply beautiful with lamb, a specialty in the Rhône Valley.

More classic pairings: Braised meat | Grilled lamb | Cassoulet

The opposite of subtle, these reds completely coat your palate with fruit flavor and tannin. California Zinfandel and Cabernet, as well as reds from countries with warm climates, like Spain and Australia, are what you want with dishes that are rich in their own right. It's why these reds rule every steakhouse wine list.

Light pink in color and redolent with red-berry, citrus and stony flavors, rosés in the southern French style are sunshine in a glass. Crisp rosé complements any dish the French would enjoy seaside on summer vacation—fresh seafood, salads, anything with aioli.

Rosés from areas with warm climates such as California and Australia can do double duty. Often darker in color and made with more intense berry, cherry and peach flavors, these rosés can still pair with lighter dishes, but won't get overpowered by something richer, like a burger.